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Indrani Dutta

The viability of the projects as well as the expertise of the DVC's existing manpower to implement new projects within such a short time span leaves scope for doubt, say sources involved with the projects.

KOLKATA, June 5

DOUBTS have emerged over the success of the capacity augmentation programme of Damodar Valley Corporation, which envisages a leapfrogging of its power generation capacity from 2,761 MW now to 6,420 MW in the span of five years.

Top power sector sources told Business Line that there were reasons to believe that realisation of this target would be a tough job for the 50-plus corporation, which has had a record of setting up only four new units in the last decade.

"The viability of the projects as well as the expertise of the DVC's existing manpower to implement new projects within such a short time span leaves scope for doubt,'' sources involved with the projects said.

The DVC, which is jointly owned by the Governments of West Bengal, Jharkhand and the Centre, is under the administrative control of the Union Power Ministry. Its command area cuts a crescent from the western part of Bengal to Jharkhand. It owns five thermal power units, three hydel units and a gas turbine.

Of its power plants, five are in Jharkhand and the remaining ones in West Bengal. Barring the newly set up Mejia thermal power station in West Bengal, the third unit of the Bokaro Thermal station in Jharkhand and the lone gas turbine also in Jharkhand, DVC is saddled with a battery of ageing power plants whose vintage varies from 19 to 48 years.

Apart from its industrial load, DVC caters to five State electricity boards, two licensees (CESC and Dishergarh), and the three infrastructure sectors - coal, railways and steel.

Pointing out that, in a way, the current capacity addition programme has been thrust on the corporation, sources said that earlier DVC had drawn up a plan to add a mere 1960 MW of capacity in the current plan period and another 820 MW in the 11 plan period.

However, a series of meetings at the ministry earlier this year changed the scenario and the DVC was told to be part of the MOP's programme of adding 41,000 MW during the tenth plan.

Sources said that the fact that six of the 10 new projects envisaged were in Jharkhand a state with whom DVC has a very uneasy relationship since the formation of the state a year and a half ago. The Jharkhand Government has been pressing hard for a shift of DVC's headquarters to Ranchi saying that till this matter was resolved, at least every alternate board meeting should be held in the state capital.

In a recent case, which DVC has taken to the Ranchi High Court, the State Government had helped provide a 33 KV transmission connection to a local industry group whose connections had been severed by DVC on account of Rs 2 crore arrear power bills. "Little help will be forthcoming for DVC for implementing projects in Jharkhand,'' sources said.

According to them, DVC should instead concentrate more on the renovation and modernisation of its power plants in order to ramp up their performance. Of course, a R&M programme is already on the anvil at DVC and 10 out of DVC's 17 units are expected to be covered under this programme.

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